OU PRSSA kicked of it’s first meeting of the school year this past Tuesday, August 27th, 2019, with guest speaker and Account Lead from Sagac Public Affairs, Kristin Morgan!

The chapter was happy to welcome back OU alum, Kristin Morgan back to Gaylord for the first time since her graduation, in 2015. Since leaving OU, the alum is now an accomplished Account Lead for Sagac Public Affairs, a public relations firm based in OKC. Sagac is known for their work with PAC (Political Action Committee) funding, helping 160 clients raise over $30 million in the 2017-2018 election cycle. Kristin, being responsible for 15 of these clients personally, says she gets to go to Washington D.C. each month to help with tasks like fundraising!

During these D.C. visits she works with clients like, the American Dental Association. For their 50th anniversary, Kristin was able to create lapel pins, for those who donate over $5000 to the organization and has also designed posters for their large events.

Kristin says that she attributes the connection of public relations to politics with this simple equation:

Awareness + brand/rep + influence

Awareness of things like the PAC (Political Action Committee)

Having a brand or representative that is trying to gain support/donations

Gaining influence through events such as the Democratic debates

Her career in politics was first influenced by her dad who works as a Political Consultant. She knew that she wanted to pursue this career through her passion for making relationships and storytelling.

After graduating from OU she moved back to her hometown of Kansas City, driving back to Oklahoma City once a week for 13 weeks until she landed her position at Sagac Public Affairs, where she works today.

Kristin gave the chapter some tips on what she had wished she had done while she was still in college:

Enjoy the summer after graduation because you don’t get breaks like this again in the working world

Kristin suggests taking a road trip by yourself!

Take more design and social media classes

It will pay off if you can help out your graphic designer

LEARN HOW TO USE EXCEL!

It cold help you turn an all nighter into a quick 10 minute project!

After a few years in the world of political public relations, Kristin says she’s learned a few things along the way and was kind enough to heed this advice to future members of the professional world:

Critique yourself like you do others

Often times we are very harsh on others but we need to learn to “be judgemental internally” in order to produce an excellent level of work and become empathetic to others

Say it in fewer words

“CEO’s don’t have time to read ten pages!” Kristin says that it’s important to be cognizant of your wording because we’re all busy people so it’s better to get right to the point, especially in emails too!

Be thoughtful rather than an “overachiever”

Sometimes we think it’s best to turn things in earlier, rather than later, Kristin argues against this and says that clients “care more about good products” than having the bare minimum done in a short amount of time.

Resumes must be PERFECT

“If you can’t do your resume in a perfect way, then I don’t want to even see it.” Take time to perfect your resume and fine tune all the little details before you apply to any job or internship!

Kristin was kind enough to offer to look over resumes for those seeking help! If you are interested in getting resume tips, internship information, or learning more about Kristin’s career in political public relations, please email her at:

Public relations is a diverse profession where you have the opportunity to work in any industry you desire. The skills PR professionals are expected to have are endless - social media marketing, professional writing, media relations, rebranding - to name a few. The expectations are high but, if done right, public relations can help bridge the gap between different audiences and brands around the world, to establish and foster relationships. So, the OU PRSSA Chapter set out to interview former PRSSA members to learn about the different paths they took to arrive at their career today. We’ll explore diverse skills PR professionals possess, their responsibilities and the different industries our alumni are working in.

Everyone loves someone who is available. 

— Micayla Payne, former PRSSA member

As a first-generation college graduate in her family, Micayla knew OU was her “end goal” before she set out on her college journey. Now, she is the marketing director of a 30,000 square foot music and event venue in downtown Oklahoma City called “The Criterion.” She interned at The Criterion for more than a year before she decided to pitch her services to the owner. In January, while still attending OU, she became the active social media manager and marketing coordinator for the venue.

Payne’s responsibilities include:

* Creating and cultivating various awareness campaigns on social media for upcoming shows and events

“Everyone loves someone who is available” because people are “more inclined to work with you if you respond quickly, are informative, and are a hard driven worker with options and answers,” Payne said. Along with availability, she says that learning to accept “no” as an answer, then taking that experience to form a new angle to pitch is so important.

“I don’t think I was prepared for how many times I would be told ‘no’… But that’s not always the case; “no” sometimes means finding a way that turns a ‘no’ into a ‘yes.’ Moral of the story: Don’t Give Up!!

PRSSA kicked off its first meeting this Tuesday, January 29th! We had the privilege of having OU Alum and Saxum account Executive, Madison Malget speak to our chapter.

Madison talks with Dean Kelley and professor robert pritchard.

Madison has just started her journey in the world of public relations and yet, she’s already accomplishing so much. She considers herself to be “one of the lucky ones,” but her work speaks for itself as she recently got promoted to account executive at the Saxum’s OKC office.

Through involvement in the Gaylord community, Madison was given the opportunity to find internships working at Ground Zero, LDWW Group and TSET through events like Top Jobs. She encourages students who are looking for internships to use LinkedIn as a tool to get to know people before and after a networking event. She said how important it was for employers to be able to “put a face to the name”. She was also involved with PRSSA and Lindsey + Asp.

Madison’s time at OU taught her many valuable lessons that she still follows today in her current position. She emphasizes the importance of networking and says that “you’re never too young to start.” She also tells students that it’s important to stand up straight and “exude confidence.”

Many people are unfamiliar with the specific tasks of what someone in account service for an agency like Saxum does. Madison explains that in simple terms, account service manages relationships with the media, stakeholders and vendors. Other tasks include supporting your team with day to day activities, being the face of the agency for the client and advocating between client and creative team.

Along with fulfilling duties for your positive, like account service, Madison has suggestions that can be applied to any job or position beyond the field of PR. She recommends that you do anything you can to “make your boss’s life easier” including being excited to learn, help and being good at time management.